1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a capsule guiding system which guides a capsule-shaped medical apparatus introduced inside a subject, e.g., a patient.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there has been a capsule-shaped medical apparatus which can be introduced inside a digestive tract of a subject, e.g., a patient. The capsule-shaped medical apparatus is swallowed from a mouth of the subject, and picks up in-vivo information such as images of insides of organs of the subject (hereinafter, “in-vivo images”) while moving inside the digestive tract due to a peristalsis or the like. The capsule-shaped medical apparatus then wirelessly transmits the obtained in-vivo information to a receiver which is arranged outside the subject. The capsule-shaped medical apparatus starts to obtain the in-vivo information of the subject when introduced inside the digestive tract of the subject, and continues to do so until naturally excreted outside the subject.
Recently, there has been proposed a capsule guiding system which guides the capsule-shaped medical apparatus introduced inside the subject by magnetic force. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-216040 discloses a capsule guiding system (i.e., a medical apparatus guiding system) in which a capsule-shaped medical apparatus whose capsule-shaped container contains a magnet magnetized in a radial direction and has spiral projections on an outer surface thereof is introduced inside the digestive tract of the subject, and then rotating magnetic field generated by a rotating magnetic field generating unit is applied to the capsule-shaped medical apparatus inside the subject so that the capsule-shaped medical apparatus is guided to a desired position inside the subject.
In general, the capsule guiding system includes a displaying apparatus which displays in-vivo images and the like captured by the capsule-shaped medical apparatus inside the subject, and an operating apparatus, e.g., a joystick for operating the magnetic guiding of the capsule-shaped medical apparatus inside the subject. When a user (i.e., an operator) such as a doctor and a nurse uses the capsule guiding system to magnetically guide the capsule-shaped medical apparatus inside the subject, the displaying apparatus displays thereon a schematic image showing a schematic body shape of the subject and a schematic image showing an outer shape of the capsule-shaped medical apparatus, and the user operates the operating apparatus with reference to a position and a longitudinal direction of the schematic image of the capsule-shaped medical apparatus in the schematic image of the subject which is displayed on the displaying apparatus. In this case, the user can view a relative movement direction or a relative rotation direction of the schematic image of the capsule-shaped medical apparatus relative to the schematic image of the subject displayed on the displaying apparatus, and thus can understand a magnetic guiding direction of the capsule-shaped medical apparatus inside the subject.